Gainful Employment
by armless-phelan
Summary: A sweeping tale of love and intrigue. If you find working at a fertilizer company intriguing, that is. AU.


**Gainful Employment**

Summary: AU. The cast of FFVIII working white collar jobs. How boring. Then a new boss arrives at the office, and that's when things start to get interesting.

A/N: This won't be an epically long fic like most of my others. This will definitely be an interesting one, though. If you find people who spend their time trying to sell chemical fertilizer to corporate farms interesting, that is.

Who's the Boss? 

"…last night I went out with that chick I met at the bar last week, ya know. She wasn't too bad, so I might ask her out again," Raijin, a muscular and tanned bear of a man, gushed to his best friend as she tried to ignore him and focus on her work. Fujin was nervous because her boss was due to arrive that day. Working under her old boss, an eternally sufferable control freak named Seifer Almasy, had been a complete and utter hell for everyone at Garden Industries. Even though the Balamb branch had been at its most efficient under his leadership, the man had treated his subordinates with absolutely no respect. The rumours that the new guy expected them to work at an even more gruelling pace did little to soothe the nerves of the employees. Raijin seemed completely oblivious to it, though. The grey-haired twenty-something wished for a brief moment that she could have his ability to enjoy anything and everything life offered him.

When he did finally notice that his conversation partner was tuning him out, Raijin skulked away from her desk and returned to his own to chat with his neighbour. The silver-maned woman breathed a sigh of relief as she spared a second to glance away from her computer screen to catch her friend engaged in a lively conversation with the office's top seller, Selphie Tilmitt. Selphie was a petite brunette woman with a zest for life that could rival even Raijin's, not to mention their mutual love of gossip. Almost everyday the pair could be found in the break room discussing the complexities of the latest divorce between celebrity couples. Luckily, neither of them attempted to involve Fujin in their discussions.

"Nervous?" Irvine Kinneas, the office flirt, asked the secretary with a wink. He had long brown hair that was always pulled back into a ponytail that hung between his shoulder blades. The guy also had an eternal five-o'clock-shadow. "That new guy is supposed to be just as bad as Seifer. I'm glad I don't have to be the one serving him."

Fujin just stared at him with a dull expression and he gave up with a shrug. As he walked away, Fujin rolled her one good eye. She wore an eye patch over her right eye because she'd been mauled by a dog when she was young and had completely lost use of her right eye as a result. Rather than get a glass eye, though, Fujin opted for the patch because it was less of a hassle. All she had to do was throw the black strap into a washing machine with her undergarments and she was good to go. The other occupants of the Laundromat would be uncomfortable for the hour or so she was there, but Fujin didn't much care.

The other occupants of the office were a mixed bag of personalities. Zell Dincht, an energetic, bottle blonde young man with a large tattoo covering one side of his face, was the PR guy. He spent all of his work time setting up calls between the sellers and the companies they were trying to sell the fertilizers to, but during his free time Zell would go out with Raijin and attempt to pick up women. They usually failed. There was also Nida, the guy from the mail department who came through twice a day to deliver the mail and memos from the other offices, and Xu, the assistant manager of the sales department. The only person with more power than Xu was the new guy, the manager. Last but not least was Quistis, the appointed assistant to the manager in addition to being Fujin's translator. Quistis was an unusually tall, thin, and gorgeous blonde whose only physical flaw was her nearsightedness, but her somehow sexy glasses made up for that. The best quality of the assistant, however, was her incredibly high intellect. She graduated in the top ten percent of her class from the prestigious Dollet University, but because of her looks nobody took her seriously and the woman found it hard to move up the corporate ladder.

It was half an hour until everyone's shift actually started when the new boss arrived. They'd all shown up early to see who it would be, with the exception of Fujin and Quistis. The secretary always showed up an hour early because Seifer did his best work before things were actually opened for business so she had to as well. Old habits die hard. Quistis, on the other hand, had to meet the new boss at the hotel and show him the way to the building.

"Guy's, some car just pulled into Seifer's old spot!" Zell shouted excitedly from his constant perch by the window. After that announcement, half the office rushed to the thin pane of glass. Only Fujin and Xu remained behind. The secretary typed away at the last of Seifer's eleventh-hour orders while her superior rolled her eyes at everyone else's excitement. "It has to be the new boss!"

"Ooh, he's cute!" Selphie squealed as she pushed Zell out of the way and pressed her face so hard against the window that the glass threatened to crack.

Raijin and Zell continued to fight the tiny titan for control of the window, so Irvine gave up and strode to the two uninterested women. "So, Boss Lady, have you met our new employer, yet?"

"Yes, I have," Xu answered while crossing her arms over her chest defiantly, all but daring him to press the issue. The three at the window did hear her and, as soon as the object of their collective obsession passed out of view, they all but tackled her with questions.

"Where did he come from, ya know?"

"What's his name?"

"Is he single?"

As the assistant manager fought off the Balamb Inquisition, Fujin rolled her eye and silently wondered if anyone actually worked in her office aside from her. Irvine whistled the theme song of some old TV show and sat in the chair at his desk. He swivelled once in his seat before coming to a stop and plopping his feet on the top of the desk, one crossed overtop the other.

A few minutes later, the door that lead into the workplace opened and a tall figure poked her head inside inside. Her hair was long and blonde, hastily piled into a bun just so it would be out of her eyes. It didn't work, though, because a few strands came loose and she had to tuck them behind her ears. She sighed and had to yell over the clamour of Raijin, Zell, and Selphie just to get their attention.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you our new regional manager, Squall Leonhart."

Stunned silence fills the room as the entity of the morning's discussion pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped into the room. The first thing everyone noticed was his height. It was a certainty that only Selphie was of a smaller stature. Even Fujin had at least an inch on the man, and he looked like a dwarf standing next to Quistis. Next came his hair, a deep brown that was darker at the tips than the roots, but didn't seem to be dyed at all. His eyes were little more than two scrutinizing slits of brown, matching his hair, and between them was a scar that ran from the left side of his nose to just right of the middle of his forehead. Oddly enough, only Fujin noticed the bizarreness of the scar. Seifer had possessed one as well, though he shamelessly had either Quistis or the secretary herself cover it with makeup before the rest of his employees arrived. Briefly, she wondered if they were connected. The thought vanished from her mind when he spoke, though.

"I'm not here to be your friend, but I'm not a dictator, either. You do your job and you get paid. You don't do your job and you get fired. That's it. Are there any questions?"

The noisy trio of just a moment before remained quiet, leaving only Irvine to give voice to what they were all wondering. "So does this mean we have to be little more than mindless drones pushing papers until closing time?"

"No," the manager answered without a glimmer of amusement. "As long as you meet your quotas, I don't care what you do. Just don't piss around once you reach them. I'm no Almasy, but I'm not a pushover, either. Chat amongst yourselves. I really don't care. Just don't bother me."

"Mr. Leonhart," Quistis said as she tapped the man on the shoulder. He looked up at her and she smiled down at him rather kindly. "It was insisted upon by the main office that I introduce you to your new employees."

"Whatever," he responded with an uncaring wave of his hand.

Quistis then proceeded to present him to the others. Selphie, Raijin, and Zell each firmly grasped his hand and shook it while telling him how happy they were to be under his guidance, while Irvine merely winked, grabbed the hand, and gave Squall a word or two of welcome. Since they'd already met, Xu was skipped.

"This is Fujin," Quistis introduced with a simple in the direction of the secretary. Fujin looked up from her computer momentarily before looking back at the screen and resuming the duties the previous person in charge had assigned specifically to her. Squall's eyebrow went up at the action of being ignored, but he said nothing. When Quistis noticed, she attempted to clear the air for the benefit of both parties. "Fujin is mute and not very social. She works hard, but doesn't answer phones or anything like that. That's why I'm here, in addition to being her translator."

"Translator?"

At this, Quistis made a few gestures with her hands. "Sign language."

Fujin had to fight back a smile.

"Whatever," Squall said with another dismissive wave of his hand. He then turned around and strutted into his new office with an assurance that was chillingly like that of the man he had replaced.

"Not a friendly one, is he?" Irvine asked no one as he pointed an imaginary gun at the spot where Squall had been standing just seconds before. He made cocking motions and noises before pretending to fire. Then he looked right at Fujin with a grin on his face. "I'd love to see you two on a date. Bet that not even you can hold a candle to him."

Fujin ignored him and concentrated on her work while Selphie and Raijin giggled and Zell guffawed. Quistis laid an unnecessary but nonetheless reassuring hand on Fujin's shoulder. Xu, meanwhile, crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the other four. "He's married, you idiots. Now get back to work. We don't pay you to act like insensitive morons."

"Cool your jets. We're just having some fun, aren't we?" Irvine asked Selphie with a wink before turning back to Xu. "Besides, we're not even on the clock yet. We still have a good ten minutes before you can start bossing us around."

Selphie giggled again and nodded in agreement. The assistant manager sighed and went into the break room, presumably more to get away from her talented-yet-insubordinate subordinates than a craving for coffee.

"Seriously, though, leave her alone, people," Quistis defended as she squeezed Fujin's shoulder. "You know that she can't defend herself."

Raijin denied the claim and raised a hand to help get his point across. "That's not true, Miss Trepe. I went to one of her classes at the gym and saw Fujin beat the crap out of a bunch of guys in some weird ninja class."

Fujin sighed and looked at Quistis before spelling out four letters with her fingers.

"It's called judo, Raijin, and you know that's not what I meant. Fujin is vulnerable _verbally_ to your mean-spirited attacks on her character," the assistant voiced with venom. Unfortunately, it was a semi-common occurrence, Quistis chewing out her officemates. Fujin wished that the blonde woman wouldn't do it. However, Quistis was her only friend, aside from Raijin, so she let her carryon in a protective manner. To be honest, she didn't care what anyone said. Words never hurt anyone. Her fists did. The other members of her judo class could attest to that.

The door to Squall's office slowly opened and he stepped into the room with a frustrated face. His eyes traveled from Quistis to Fujin before scanning the rest of the room ominously. "Do not disturb me. You will not be warned again."

Everyone, even Fujin, stared at him as he crossed his arms over his chest and all but dared them to contradict him.

"I hope I do not have to clarify myself further."

Squall then returned to the vacuum that was his office. Fujin was the first to recover, turning her head back to her monitor. Eventually, the familiar sounds of her fingers clicking on the keyboard brought everyone else out of their stupors and they finally began doing what they were hired to do.

---

Squall hung up the phone, wondering just why his Laguna didn't trust him. Garden Industries had employed him for several years. Why did the man who got his mother pregnant and then disappeared, only to suddenly reappear seventeen years after his birth wanting a relationship, insist on hassling him? Just because he was the CEO of the corporation didn't mean he had the right to keep tabs on everything he did.

"I should have just gone to work for Rinoa's father," Squall admonished himself as he ran a hand through his hair. The clock in the lower right hand corner of his laptop's screen indicated that it was well after midnight.

Hibrom Caraway was on the board of Galbadian Railways, the company that controlled all of the railways on the Galbadian continent. He hadn't approved of Squall dating his daughter, and he threw a royal fit when they got engaged. When it came to their wedding, though, he finally broke down under the pressures of his daughter and wife. The man who objected to the marriage was the one who walked his beautiful daughter down the aisle.

Actually, Rinoa had never gone by her father's last name. She instead chose to use her mother's maiden name. The Caraways were an old family, very blueblood. It stretched back generations. In fact, back when the world was still ruled by monarchies, the Caraways were distant relatives of the royal family. Noble blood ran through their veins.

Rinoa's mother was a different story. Julia Heartilly had been a piano playing lounge singer in Deling City without a Gil to her name when she met Hibrom. They were supposed to be a one-night stand, but shortly after they began dating and Julia became pregnant with Rinoa. The eldest Caraway, Rinoa's grandfather, ordered her to have a paternity test on the fetus. When it was revealed to be of Caraway descent, Hibrom proposed and Julia happily accepted.

It wasn't a happy marriage, though. Rinoa's parents fought often and divorced when their only child was three. Her mother died in a car accident ten years later and she was sent to live with her father in the Caraway Mansion in Deling City. Father and daughter never bonded. Rinoa would rebel against her father at any chance she could find. Squall half-suspected that that had been one of the reasons she married him.

Leaving the ruminations about his in-laws behind, Squall stretched in his seat with a yawn before retrieving a sheet of paper from his desk. He told himself that he should have left at a decent hour. It was his first day though, and he needed to establish the appearance of being dedicated to his work. Years of experience had shown him that people respected a boss that stayed behind to work more than one that left when they did. As it was, the only people left in the building were his personal assistant, his secretary, and the boss himself. Quistis wasn't working. Squall could hear here voice as she chatted with Fujin about something. However, he could also hear the clicking of Fujin's keyboard showing that she was still hard at work.

The manager wondered just what his secretary was doing. He had given her some reports to enter into the system, but it definitely wouldn't take as long as Fujin was taking.

"Look at the time!" Quistis's voice floated into Squall's office. He looked back at the clock on his laptop and saw that twenty minutes had passed since he'd last checked it. It was almost one in the morning. "I'd better go home and get some sleep. The boss definitely wouldn't like for me to fall asleep on the job. See you tomorrow."

The door to Squall's office opened and the blonde popped her head in. Her hair was completely out of its bun. The golden strands freely fell around her shoulders. She wished him a good night before the closing the door. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of a car starting up in the parking lot.

"One left," he muttered under his breath.

An electronic beeping quickly filled the room, and it took Squall a few moments to realize it was his cell phone. He pulled it out of his pocket, flipped it open, and read the caller ID before answering. It was Rinoa calling from their room in the Balamb Hotel. Their new apartment was still being furnished to his wife's approval and it was estimated to be another week or two before the job would be finished.

"Why haven't you come back?" Squall heard when he put the phone up to his ear. Rinoa sounded angry. The manager reasoned that it was probably due to how late he'd stayed at the office, especially since it was his first day. "You could have at least called!"

Squall apologized and told the distraught woman that the previous manager had left a mess for him to sort through. It wasn't true, of course. Seifer had left everything more organized than his replacement could ever hope to keep it.

"I still have a lot of work to do," he lied as he used his free hand to shuffle some of the loose papers on his desk. "How about tomorrow night I take you out for dinner? You can wear that blue dress that you bought for your dad's third wedding."

"You promise?" Rinoa cooed, though she still sounded upset. "You won't blow me off again?"

"When have I ever let you down?" Squall asked with a chuckle. As annoying as Rinoa could be at times, he did love her. Laguna had come into his life before the manager even proposed to his bride, so the nuptials hadn't been for money. No matter what the Caraway's said.

"I seem to recall you not showing up to the wedding I bought that particular blue dress for," Rinoa admonished with a small laugh.

Squall sighed and slumped in his chair. "Your father certainly didn't mind. That was probably the best wedding gift I could've given him. Besides, I had an important exam I had to take that day."

"I know. Fine, tomorrow then. I want you back to the hotel by eight."

"It's a date."

"Love you," Rinoa added before hanging up. Squall closed the phone and sat it on his desk. He stared at it like it was some unknown object before looking over some of the papers that he had mussed up during his brief conversation.

On top of the stack was a list of costs that had occurred under his predecessor's watch. The lines of numbers read smoothly with one blaring exception. Towards the end of the page was an absurd amount of money dedicated to "managerial necessities." Squall rolled his chair back from his desk, snatched the paper from atop it, and left his office.

He slammed the document next to Fujin's keyboard. The secretary turned in her seat and regarded her boss thoughtfully before turning back to the monitor in front of her.

Not wanting to have his newly acquired authority challenged, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close. His mouth was dangerously close to her ear as he jabbed the paper with a finer and hissed a threat. "Your signature is on this. You ran these numbers for Seifer. I want an explanation or you're fired."

Fujin cocked an eyebrow but kept an otherwise straight face. She picked up the sheet, scanned it, and set it down with little regard.

"Well?" Squall demanded. This was going nowhere fast, and he was exhausted. It was only his first day in charge. He felt like strangling Laguna, for giving him this job and for hiring Seifer in the first place. It was just like the blonde man to embezzle. What he didn't understand was why the grey-haired woman in front of him would help Almasy in his scheme. She didn't seem easy to intimidate, and he doubted she was getting anything out of it. Why would she put herself in such a position?

The secretary grabbed his wrist, the one on the hand holding her arm, with her own vice-like grip. Squall didn't budge. They were locked together. He moved his head back so that their faces were less than an inch apart. Her hot breath pressed against his lips as her eye narrowed in what was obvious distaste. It appeared that she did not appreciate the way she was being treated.

Finally, Squall released her and she returned the same courtesy.

Her next action was to roll her chair back and open one of the drawers on her desk. She fished around for a few moments before pulling out what appeared to be a wallet. She opened it, pulled out what appeared to be the ID that was required to get into the building, and scanned the plastic card before handing it to Squall with a look of triumph. Odd as it was, he believed it to be the most human reaction she had shown towards anyone the entire day.

Earlier that day, some of her coworkers, a blonde man with a tattoo on his face and a muscled, tanned man that was about two feet taller than the manager, had engaged in the time consuming activity of throwing wads of paper at each other when they should have been talking to potential customers. Squall had heard Xu berating them and poked his head out the door. Everyone was watching the strict woman go off on the two cowering men, except for Fujin. The grey-haired woman was ignoring the situation and continued to type on her computer, apparently oblivious to her boss's head not even four feet away from her.

He had chalked the behaviour up to professionalism, but now Squall believed that it was simply how she acted. The conversation between his secretary and his personal assistant that had preceded his telephone conversation with his wife had been one-sided. Perhaps everyone else was just used to Fujin's constant cold behaviour.

"What am I looking at?" he asked her as he looked between the photograph of the woman and its subject. "Should I be seeing something here?"

Fujin rolled her eye and exhaled as she stood up, clutching the document that started the barely verbal argument in the first place. She stood behind him and held the paper next to the plastic before pointing to the signatures on each of the records. It took a second for him to notice, but Squall eventually became aware of the fact that the two samples of script didn't match. The one that had signed off on the falsified document was a clear forgery.

"Very well then," Squall said in an even voice. He was trying to keep his embarrassment from showing, and only one trained to notice how he had stiffened his body when said it would have become aware of the humiliation.

He attempted to step back, forgetting that Fujin was there as he fought to keep his face straight. Their bodies bumped together and he almost fell. The manager's secretary wrapped her arms around him with surprising strength and held him up. After a second she let go and Squall regained his footing. He turned around to apologize and found that their faces were even closer than they had been during his accusation. Their eyes refused to meet as they awkwardly separated.

She handed him the cost listing, which had become crumpled when she held him. Then he watched her move, turning as she stepped around him. Fujin gathered her things, cast her boss one more look of disbelief, and then left.

---

A/N: What do you think so far? Too much drama, or just awful?


End file.
